This Week in the News 8/26-8/30
Written by Erin Bader
It was a busy news week for topics related to child welfare and mental health. We read a few articles centered on the continued discussion around the over-reliance of residential treatment, a key issue that many of our partners have identified as well. While we know children fare best with their family or in another home environment, it is often difficult to meet their mental health needs with community-based services. These states are identifying solutions and implementing new programs that can meet the child’s mental health needs in their community rather than a higher level of care:
- California continues to enact safeguards to ensure the safety of youth placed in residential treatment facilities. At the same time, they are taking steps to reduce the use of congregate care. Years ago, California shifted its approach from traditional group homes to address the longstanding issue of housing children solely due to the inability of local agencies to find more appropriate placements. Group homes are now used as short-term treatment programs. There are currently 339 such programs licensed in California, serving 1,499 youth, according to an Aug. 21 bill analysis. That number includes 1,182 foster youth and 317 children sent to a facility by a probation department.
- California parents of children on the Autism Spectrum also struggle with accessing mental health services and are often forced to place their child with the child welfare system. Despite the growing diagnosis of Autism, which has been estimated to affect more than 2 million children and teens across the country, experts and advocates have identified glaring gaps in services to meet the mental health needs of this population.
- Ohio is expanding its treatment foster care program, aimed at placing youth in family settings with caregivers trained to handle children facing behavioral, mental, or health challenges. This initiative enables children to remain within their local regions, near their families, schools, and healthcare providers. Additionally, specialized foster homes allow siblings to stay together. Recently, Ohio launched the Treatment Foster Home Pilot program across 34 participating counties grouped into 10 regions. This initiative is proving cost-effective for the state and counties, as treatment foster care costs significantly less — between one-third to one-fifth — compared to congregate care.
- Tulsa, Oklahoma has implemented the Mighty Makers program as a solution to meet the mental health needs of youth in the community. The program is designed to help children ages 5-12 effectively manage their emotions, with the support of their families. One of the standout features of the Mighty Makers program is its accessibility. The program is completely free, eliminating financial obstacles that often hinder families from seeking essential mental health support for their children.
In addition to covering the mental health needs of youth, recent headlines address the needs of both parents and the child welfare workforce who support children and youth:
- The Surgeon General called attention to the mental health needs of parents caring for struggling youth. A youth mental health crisis has exacerbated mental health needs for parents. Safety concerns, the increasing cost of living, and sleep deprivation all add to the growing list of stressors for parents. Additionally, new challenges have emerged in modern parenting like gun violence, which stands as the primary cause of death for children. Parents also grapple with issues related to social media and the need to address children’s worries about loneliness and mental health, amidst elevated levels of depression and anxiety among young people. It’s important than mental health services are family-based, as the mental health of parents directly impacts youth mental health.
For more updates and resources on child welfare and mental health, check out our Updates Launch Pad.
